Writer's Cramp Entries

The Breakup

Word Count: 303
Prompts: a sparrow, a madam's hat, a dog
Winning Entry for 01/04/06
__________


It’s funny how things look so much clearer while faced with the most devastating news of all.

“I think you’re a very nice girl.”

There’s a brown sparrow dipping its beak into a plate filled with bread crumbs, remnants of a patron’s hasty snack or lunch. However its meal is short-lived for a waiter appears to chase him away. Poor thing.

“I mean…it’s not like we didn’t have fun together.”

The ugliest dog I’ve ever seen is being led away by its master, a portly man who reeks of cheap perfume and cigarettes. It’s small, brown with its fur matted as if it had just stepped out of a puddle of mud. I shudder and stir my coffee faster and faster, hoping it would move out of sight quickly. If I ever get a dog, I’ll make sure it’s the cutest one on the block.

“I just think we should be apart for a while, don’t you think?”

Shrill laughter interrupts my thoughts and my gaze drifts to the new patrons arriving. They are two women dressed to the nines. Probably wives of some rich politicians or movie stars –hardly uncommon around these parts. One of the madam’s hat is decorated with colorful feathers, a ghastly sight all things considered. One would think with all the money they have, they’d be able to afford much better clothing. There’s simply no accounting for good taste.

“Are you even listening to me?”

I finally force myself to look at him, the man – no, the stranger sitting before me – a stranger I have known for one incredibly long year. I shrug and sip my coffee, feeling numb and cold beneath the warm summer’s sun.

“Yes, I hear you,” I reply quietly, as I think of the colorful feathers in the madam’s hat. “It’s over between us.”